I'm coming into object-oriented PHP from a more functional Javascript background, so I'm fairly new to both PHP and OOP.
What I'm trying to do is make a class that that is passed the contents of a text file, divides it up into manageable pieces, and then loops over those pieces (steps), and handles them accordingly, sometimes making HTTP requests, sometimes saving chunks of info into a $fileVariables
array. Here's a basic outline of what I have:
class Script {
public $file, $client, $fileVariables;
function __construct($file) {
$this->file = $file;
$this->client = new \GuzzleHttp\Client();
$this->fileVariables = array();
}
public function parseAndRun() {
$client = $this->client;
$file = $this->file;
// this is the function that performs the bulk of the class's
// work. It relies on some utility functions that are defined
// after, and are utilized within this function like this:
$steps = $this->divideFileIntoSteps($file);
// or like this:
$this->setVariable($index, $value);
}
public function divideFileIntoSteps($file) {
// return array of file divided into steps
}
public function setVariable($index, $value) {
// push $index => $value into $fileVariables array
}
}
I think it's possible that I'm trying to do something that would be totally okay in functional Javascript, but just feels sloppy in object-oriented PHP. Also, when I run PHPUnit tests on this, I get an error that's something like Serialization of 'Closure' is not allowed
, which I think from doing some googling on the error might have something to do with how I'm doing this. Also, the fact that I have to use $this->
over and over again on commonly used functions makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong. It just gives me that bad code feeling.
Is there a better way to do this, bearing in mind that a lot of the functionality has to do with getting and setting items in the $fileVariables
array?
Your code is basically correct.
You don't need $file = $this->file;
$this
prefix is standard for accessing member functions and variables in PHP.
Your function could look like this:
public function parseAndRun() {
$steps = $this->divideFileIntoSteps($this->file);
// or like this:
$this->setVariable($index, $value);
}
Another best practice is to declare private
all methods that you don'n need to access from outside the class. Member variables should all be private
and you should have accessor functions for them.